Dieting and Writing

Writing and dieting have a lot in common. Starting a diet usually brings changes for the immediate family. Old favorite dishes get low-fat make-overs, a certain food is present at every meal or an entire new menu is tested out. Friends and extended family who know of the dieting efforts will cheer and encourage. But the only person who truly cares about the diet is the dieter. And when Ben & Jerry start calling or a trip through the drive-thru sounds easier than cooking, giving up seems easy. After all, no one else will really care.

Writing often feels the same. Meals are affected (anyone else have all the delivery places on speed dial?), family and friends encourage, but when that wall looks too tall to scale or too thick the knock down, the only person who can push through is the writer.  Giving up won't matter to anyone else.

I've conquered dieting in the past, though lately I'm having some trouble. Can I blame the scale? And I'm working to stay on top of the writing. Some days, the easy way out is appealing. Who will really care if quit or don't follow through on getting Sarah Cameron published? But it all comes down to what I want and what I am willing to fight for. So whether it is resisting those Christmas cookies or pushing through the fear of failure, I'll keep fighting.